


Unacceptable

by Aaron_The_8th_Demon



Series: Good Enough [2]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: 2015-2016 NHL Season, Established Relationship, Light Angst, M/M, Tourette's Syndrome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 02:56:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18357179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aaron_The_8th_Demon/pseuds/Aaron_The_8th_Demon
Summary: Brad almost apologizes for apologizing too much, but for once he catches himself. His fingers snap without his permission and he stares at his feet. “Okay.”“Christ, Brad, when can you stop being sorry for things that aren’t your fault?” Patrice demands. “This is getting out of hand. You need to tell them already so they stop punishing you for this shit!”[For anyone scared to read this because they think Tourette's is some horrible disease, it's not. It's commonly portrayed in media as the behavior disorder that makes you scream swear words at people no matter how inaccurate that really is.]





	Unacceptable

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> Trua has left very nice comments on some of my stuff and also asked for more fics with Marchy having Tourette's Syndrome. Tourette's is fucking annoying and this is a great way for me to vent about it, so I'm happy to oblige.

Patrice is so, so angry. Brad’s never seen him this pissed before.

“Pat, I’m sorry…” It’s so hollow, it’s not good enough. He can say he’s sorry and that he didn’t mean it as many times as he wants, but it’ll never be enough. “I tried to… they looked at it and said… for fuck’s sake, Pat, say something!”

Patrice stops pacing across the kitchen and gives a sigh that’s cut short into a huff. His eyes are closed for a second. “This is unacceptable.”

Brad’s heart sinks. It’s inevitable, really… because it’s been four years since he told Patrice the truth, and they’ve been together for the last two and a half. Eventually, everyone stops believing him that he can’t help it. He should’ve known. People stop thinking that Tourette’s is a thing, they start figuring he’s lying to try and get away with this shit, when he’s really, really not.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles again. That’s fucking it, isn’t it? He’s always _sorry._ Sorry doesn’t change things. He’s going to miss the Winter Classic against Montreal, and so fucking soon after the A got put on his jersey… fuck, that’s the end of that, too, isn’t it? He was so fucking proud of himself for that and it’s so short-lived.

“Stop apologizing!” Patrice snaps, absolutely livid.

Brad almost apologizes for apologizing too much, but for once he catches himself. His fingers snap without his permission and he stares at his feet. “Okay.”

“Christ, Brad, when can you stop being sorry for things that aren’t your fault?” Patrice demands. “This is getting out of hand. You need to tell them already so they stop punishing you for this shit!”

Firstly, Brad doesn’t know how to respond to the fact that his boyfriend has actually used a swear word. After that, though, it sinks in… Patrice isn’t upset with him. Patrice is upset with the refs, with bad calls, with Tourette’s Syndrome; Patrice is upset with everything _but_ Brad at this point.

“Um… what?” is all he can come up with. So, great. Now he sounds like even more of an idiot.

“I’m not kidding,” Patrice replies, frowning so hard he could get premature wrinkles. “You need to talk to Julien, and the Players’ Association, and whoever all else so that this _stops._ It needs to stop, Brad. It needed to stop years ago.”

“Pat, if they find out something this fucking big is wrong with my brain, they won’t let me play anymore,” Brad whispers. It’s so strange for Patrice to be shouting and him to be the quiet one, but here they are. “I can’t do that. You know I can’t do that.”

“There’s got to be something we can do,” Patrice insists, shaking his head. He comes over and grabs Brad’s hands in his. “Brad… babe, look at me… there has to be something.”

“They tried a few medications on me when I was still in school,” Brad mumbles. “Nothing helped. Sometimes it made things worse. You think I haven’t already tried everything…? It’s like being color blind or some shit. There’s no pills or anything to ‘fix’ it. I just am this way, I’ve always been this way and I’ll never not be this way. We can hate it as much as we fucking want, but it’s never going away.”

Brad’s reciting facts he’s mostly learned to accept by this point in his life, but as the words come out he can see Patrice’s heart breaking for him a little more with each one. It’s so sweet and so sad and it just makes Brad want to fucking die right now, because he’s hurting his boyfriend without meaning to.

Patrice rests their foreheads together, closing his eyes and sighing through his nose. He rubs Brad’s knuckles with his thumbs. “I just hate this so much.”

“I know.”

“Even our friends are mad at you for this because they don’t know.”

“They’ll get over it eventually.”

“I shouldn’t have to be this way,” Patrice protests, his voice raising in volume again. “Just… I don’t… you… it’s not fucking fair!”

Brad can’t help it - he starts giggling. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear this much.” He tilts his head up enough that he can kiss the spot between his boyfriend’s eyebrows. Then he sighs. “It’s not the end of the world… it’s only three games, Pat. I fucking hate this shit just as much as you do, but it won’t kill us.”

They wrap arms around each other, and Patrice presses his face to Brad’s ear. “I wish you could just tell them.”

“Yeah, and I wish I was taller,” Brad scoffs. “We can wish for all kinds of shit, doesn’t mean we’ll actually get it.”

Patrice starts rubbing his back. “It’s okay, Bradley, I still love you.”

Brad snorts. “I know, I love you, too.”

“At least it’s only three games and not five.”

“Yeah.”

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't the first fic where Bergy and Marchy are essentially just stand-ins for my boyfriend and me (respectively). Like the line "It's okay Bradley I still love you" is almost exactly something Matt says to me sometimes.


End file.
